We’re thrilled to announce that Soñamos Sentirnos Libres /Under Construction, our Summer 2016 exhibition in collaboration with Mobile Print Power, will be presented in a new iteration at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the Maine College of Art (MECA) in Portland, Maine. Soñamos Sentirnos Libres: Making It Realwill be presented from Feburary 1 through March 3, 2017.

Mobile Print Power (MPP) is a multi-generational collective based out of IMI Corona, in Queens, NY. We use silkscreen printmaking and participatory design in public space to engage communities and explore social and cultural situations. Since 2013 we have created public projects throughout NYC, including regular projects in Corona Plaza, Queens. We have published seven books, including Message from Corona Plaza and Solidarity, Solidaridad, and exhibited at museums, universities, and galleries, such as The New School, Columbia University, and the Queens Museum. We regularly collaborate with local organizations and collectives that positively impact our community, creating workshops and public projects that engage urgent issues such as brown-black solidarity, health equity, and immigrant rights.

Interference Archive explores the relationship between cultural production and social movements. This work manifests in an open stacks archival collection, publications, a study center, and public programs including as exhibitions, workshops, talks, and screenings, all of which encourage critical and creative engagement with the rich history of social movements.

Soñamos Sentirnos Libres: Making it Real is an evolution of the exhibition Soñamos Sentirnos Libres: Under Construction which ran at Interference Archive from May-September 2016. The collaboration utilized the archive’s historical resources to draw connections between past and current struggles for the rights of immigrants, intentionally prioritizing the voices of youth, undocumented folks, and women. This version of the exhibition highlights some of the collaborative work produced throughout it’s initial run at Interference Archive. Here, at Maine College of Art, a series of public events will engage different communities with the ideas behind MPP’s work, including collaboration, immigrant identity, and the role of the artist. With this latest iteration of Soñamos Sentirnos Libres, we will explore these concepts within a new context–both responding to the local context of Portland, Maine, and to the charged political atmosphere post-election, especially around immigrant rights and the question of who “belongs” in America.

This exhibition was organized by Mobile Print Power and Interference Archive.